


約束 | Versprechung

by bukkunkun



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, F/M, Flower Crowns, I LOVE YOU HUHUHU, I'm bad at tagging please help, I'm not tagging everyone else they're too many of them, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and this isn't even porny, anyway, happy birthday my son, honestly. this is even less thought out than ryoma's birthday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 17:59:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6998713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bukkunkun/pseuds/bukkunkun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>(約束, Versprechung, Promise)</i>
</p><p> </p><p>Siegbert was coming of age and was expecting his coronation.</p><p>Shiro has the best gift for him of all.</p><p>(Don't worry, Kana, this doesn't make you any less of a good little brother.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	約束 | Versprechung

**Author's Note:**

> waheeeee so it's my son's birthdayyyyyyyy eeeeeeeeeee i'm so happy huhu i love my son i will Protect him forever
> 
> Ricki is my avatar's name! You can drop by my castle and say hi, too! The address is 17876-61383-44983-02316.
> 
> Set after Revelations, with many details changed (i think???? not sure) because I have yet to finish the damn game. I've been held up too damn long on Sieg's Xenologue, RNG-sama is not kind to me.......................

Siegbert was an early sleeper, and an early riser. He'd developed the habit ages ago, back when his father had a little less free time than he did now, back when he was a lonely little boy in the Deeprealms without his mother or father there with him. 

But now, the war was over. Now, he was with his family again. Now, he could relax and be happy. 

Today, more than the other days of the year. 

He slowly opened his eyes to the gentle flow of light into his bedroom, and a smile crossed his face. The gods seemed to have blessed Nohr today with rare sunlight. The sensation of his bed dipping had him turn his head to see his mother sitting down next to him, Kana bouncing on his heels next to her. 

“Good morning, Siegbert.” She warmly said, kissing his forehead as she always did when she was the one to wake him up, and he smiled slowly.

“Good morning, mother.” He mumbled, sitting up slowly to rub sleep out of his eye. Kana jumped onto his bed, making him laugh as his little brother hugged him warmly. “Good morning to you too, Kana.”

“Happy birthday, big brother!” He greeted, cheering brightly as he held up what looked like their father’s circlet when he was a prince. Instead of the black iron Siegbert was used to, this one was made of stems and vines and flowers, and he knew Kana made it for him himself. Warmth bubbled in his chest as he lowered his head for Kana to coronate him with the flower crown, and he did his best to imitate their father’s expression as he addressed his people. Kana cheered happily, as their mother giggled into her hand. 

“Thank you, Kana.” He said, and she cupped his cheek. 

“Happy birthday, Sieg.” She smiled gently. “Promise me you'll take the day off?”

“Mother,” he laughed. “I've got my studies, and some more training to do.”

“Nonsense.” She turned up her nose, her pointy ears twitching and he couldn't help the giggle that bubbled from his chest. It never failed to amuse him, her draconian features. They were always so…  _ interesting _ , and while they were all still waiting if Siegbert could turn into a dragon too, he wasn't holding out too much hope. “I've already told your tutors to take the day off.”

“But Father,” he tried, but he was smiling, inwardly grateful for his freedom, and she shook her head. 

“I'll take care of your father.” She reassured him, and as if on cue, the man stepped into his bedroom, a smile on his face as he cleared the room with his wide steps. 

“Take care of me, Ricki?” He chuckled, leaning down to kiss her cheek before turning to smile at Siegbert. “Happy birthday, Siegbert.” He reached forward to stroke his hair, mussed from sleep, and patted his cheek softly. 

He smiled slowly, leaning into his father's touch before he paused. 

It was nice his family was all here, but on his other birthdays it wasn't like this, mostly. What was… happening today?

“Oh, babe. Our baby's coming of age today.” Ricki sighed, leaning against Xander and realisation hit Siegbert,  _ hard.  _

That's right. Tonight he was going to be properly crowned the next in line to the throne. There was going to be a huge event at the palace, with delegates and visitors from  _ everywhere  _ and even…

Oh, gods. And even Hoshido. 

Shiro. Shiro was here. 

He flushed deeply, something Ricki didn't fail to notice, and she giggled a little, sharing a knowing look with a snickering Kana. Mercifully Xander missed the unspoken conversation, too focused with his son’s coming of age to truly mind, and he gave Siegbert a pat on his shoulder. 

“Your mother here practically chased away your tutors for today.” He chuckled. “You've got the day off, and I think that would do you some good. You've been working incredibly hard.”

“You can play with me the whole day!” Kana cheered, “And Forrest, too!”

“Kana, let Siegbert decide what he wants to do today; it's a special day for him.” Ricki gently reprimanded him, but Siegbert shook his head. 

“It's alright, mother. I… wouldn't know what to do with a free day anyway.” He gave her a sheepish smile, and Kana cheered, hugging him tightly. 

“Yay!” He cheered, and their parents shared exasperated, but fond smiles. 

“Well, alright.” Xander took his wife’s hand and helped her to her feet. “We'll see you later this afternoon, Siegbert. You've a big evening ahead of you.”

The older teen gave his father a shaky smile. “Thank you, father.” He nodded, and with one last smile from his parents, the two of them left the room. 

Not a lot of people have ever seen Siegbert so unkempt, but Kana had a habit of sneaking into Siegbert’s bed after sleepless hours in the middle of the war. They'd been together through thick and thin, so Siegbert had no qualms with letting Kana see him flop back onto his bed with a loud sigh. His little brother giggled and flopped down next to him too, and Siegbert couldn't help but smile back at Kana’s contagious smile. 

“Gosh.” He breathed slightly. “It's my coronation today.”

“Yeah.” Kana smiled back. “How're you feeling?” He asked, scooting closer to cuddle with his brother. “Is it exciting?”

“Frightening, actually.” Siegbert confessed. “It's like I'm really coming into my title as crown prince.”

Kana gave him a supportive hug. “I know you can do it, big brother. You're always so great and stuff! Just like Mama and Papa.”

“Kana, I really don't know…” Siegbert sighed, but he was grateful for Kana’s affection and hugged him back. 

“I mean it!” He huffed, puffing out his cheeks, and Siegbert chuckled at how adorable he looked. “Jeez, stop talking badly about yourself, you know how I hate it.”

“Sorry,” he smiled, and he was reminded of Kiragi with the way Kana huffed and hugged him aggressively again. The younger Hoshidan prince was really a good influence on him, he thought. “So, Kana. What did you want to do today?”

The younger’s face scrunched up in thought. “To be honest, I really just wanted to hang out with you today, Siegbert.” He frowned, as if considering the world’s heaviest problem, and Siegbert chuckled, patting Kana’s head. 

“Well, let's go look for our friends.” He said, “Maybe they've got better plans.”

“Yeah, okay!” Kana jumped out of bed and tugged at Siegbert’s hand. “C’mon, Sieg! Let's go!”

“Let me just get washed up first!” Siegbert laughed, but he let Kana have a semblance of manhandling him at least out of bed. He led Kana to sit on a chair for a moment, smiling at the way Kana waved his feet as he waited, and got to getting dressed for the day. 

* * *

Siegbert and Kana were barely out of his room when they were confronted by a delighted-looking Forrest, holding a box with a charming little ribbon on top of it. “Forrest.” He smiled, and his cousin practically thrust the box into Siegbert’s hands. 

“Happy birthday, dearest cousin!” He greeted happily. “Quick, back inside. I absolutely  _ must  _ see you in this!”

He herded a laughing Siegbert back inside his room, an excited-looking Kana in tow, tutting. “It's a good thing I made it before you even stepped out of your room! You were always such an early riser.” He said, ushering Siegbert behind his dressing screen before taking a seat beside Kana on Siegbert’s bed. 

Left alone behind the screen, Siegbert shook his head fondly and set the box down, opening it to find a full set of clothes. He knew Forrest personally took it upon himself to make Siegbert’s coronation outfit, but another set…

“They're beautiful, Forrest.” He called over the screen, and he could only imagine the smile on his cousin’s face. He picked up the white shirt, slightly standard fare but he could see the additional ruffles around the collar and cuffs, bound by delicate crocheted ribbons of deep red. He slipped it on and smiled at its silky texture against his skin. Siegbert wasn't sure what material Forrest used by he knew in the very least it wasn't Nohrian. There were Hoshidan, and the whiff of Sakura flowers from the cloth confirmed his assumption. He left the cuffs untied, but settled for making a red ribbon under his chin with his collar. He next pulled out the trousers, a simple black with detailed golden embroidery of twining vines and thorns, and he pulled them on. They fit him like a glove. He turned around, looking at himself in the mirror, and he realised Forrest made them a smidge tighter than the usual trousers. His rear stuck out better than in his other jeans, and he blushed deeply. He would have to scold Forrest about this later, when Kana wouldn't be around to hear such scandalous things. 

Shaking his head, he reached for the last part—the vest. It was a beautiful royal red, one that reminded Siegbert of Shiro’s armour. He smiled at that shyly, and traced the embroidered silver-aquamarine-gold of whirls determinedly not Nohrian. Forrest had gone for a Hoshido-inspired look, it would seem, and the blush that blossomed on Siegbert’s face almost seemed to match his clothes. 

He turned it around and realised it wasn't bound by buttons or clasps. It was bound with crotcheted ribbons as well, one of white, and another of the same deep blue as the band around Shiro’s head. 

“Um, Forrest?” He called, tugging at the ribbons uncertainly. “Did you make me a corset?”

He could hear Kana giggling at that, and Forrest’s laughter grew closer until his cousin peered in at him from behind the screen. 

“Oh, it was a stylistic choice I made. The usual Nohrian vests were always bound with buttons or clasps, but Hoshidans always used ribbons or ropes to bind their clothes.” He stepped inside, deeming his cousin decent enough to join him behind the screen to take the vest from him. “It only seemed to fit. Here, allow me.”

He loosened the ribbons enough for Siegbert to slip through, and let his cousin wear the vest first before helping him smooth it down. “The ribbons go in the back, like our mothers’ corsets.” He explained, tone clinical and professional, but he was grinning, and Siegbert’s growing suspicions of ulterior motives only doubled. “Tell me if it's too tight.”

“Hurry up!” Kana whined from where he sat. “I wanna see!”

“In a moment, Kana,” Siegbert called, “Have patience.”

“Hmph!” Kana huffed, but that was all they heard of him. Siegbert chuckled, imagining the pout on his little brother’s face. 

Forrest tightened the ribbon carefully, comfortable enough and secure, without cutting off Siegbert’s air supply and he tied them both securely. “There we go.” He smiled, and drew the screen aside. Kana was already standing there, and when he saw his brother, his eyes widened. 

“Aw, Sieg! You look so cool!” He cooed, “Wow!”

Siegbert blushed modestly. “It's all thanks to Forrest’s present.”

“Oh, no, that's not my present.” Forrest smiled, and Siegbert sighed. He knew it. There was only someone else who could've thought to dress him like this. The Hoshidan hints weren't subtle at all. “I was commissioned by someone.”

“It's not hard to guess who might that be.” Siegbert drawled, and Forrest simply hummed, putting a finger to his chin and smiling. 

“My client has decided to remain anonymous.”

“It's incredibly surreal to consider you and Shiro actually working together, Forrest.” Siegbert chuckled, dissolving into laughter when Kana grabbed their hands. 

“Doesn't matter!” Kana huffed, “Shiro wanted you to look cool for your birthday! He said he had something super cool to give you!”

“ _ Kana _ ,” Forrest sighed exasperatedly at his cousin, “That was supposed to be a surprise.” 

“Oh!” The boy slapped his hands over his mouth, eyes adorably wide, and Siegbert patted Kana’s head. 

“Don't worry, you haven't spoiled the surprise completely.” He said. “You said Shiro was here?” He fought to keep the hopeful excitement out of his voice, but Forrest’s giggle told him he failed. Perhaps rather miserably. 

“Yeah! Shiro and Kiragi are here already! Their papas were talking to Papa and it's really boring but Kiragi said he wants to play with us!” Kana bounced on his heels. “Can we?”

“Of course.” Siegbert nodded. 

Forrest clapped his hands. “Oh, that's right! Soleil was looking for you. And Ophelia, too.”

“Well, we'll all go look for them, then.” Siegbert nodded, and the three of them headed outside.

It didn't take them long to find Soleil—rather, they ran  _ into  _ her, and there was a huge smile on her face as she pulled Siegbert into a warm, familiar bear hug. 

“Aren't we looking dapper today, Siegbert?” She cheered as she clapped him on the back. He flushed, smiling sheepishly, and her laugh turned husky. “Hm. Looks like a certain someone’s staking his claim on a lovely rump.”

Siegbert felt a soft pat on his butt, and he spluttered as Soleil cackled loudly.

“S-Soleil!” He yelled, voice cracking into a squeak, and his friends began to laugh. 

“Sorry. You're decked out in Hoshidan garb, Siegbert, it's pretty hard to ignore the whole ‘you all know who he belongs to’ thing going on right now.” She giggled. “I mean, cute outfit, but you're even wearing his colours. That's disgustingly cute.”

Siegbert wilted a little in embarrassment, but she saved him any further trouble by taking his hands and putting a small ruby brooch in his hand. “For my adorable, sweet liege.” She purred, balling his hand around it before kissing his knuckles. 

The flush on Siegbert’s cheeks deepened and Soleil had a triumphant smirk on her face. 

“Soleil.” Forrest curtly scolded her, and she immediately let him go, her grin turning back into a sheepish one. 

“Oh, that’s right. Claimed property.” She sighed, and Siegbert could feel his cheeks grow impossibly hotter. She winked at him and offered her arm. “Well, Siegbert, you’ve got a long list of friends to go through today. Everyone’s all got a little something for you.”

“Sieg likes my present best!” Kana jumped up and down, hurrying forward to take Siegbert’s hand as he took Soleil’s arm, laughing. He would indulge her, at least for today. 

After all, if Shiro waited at the end of the long list of his war-forged friends, then he wouldn’t mind at all.

* * *

It wasn’t until the hour right before noon did Siegbert finish being greeted by all his friends, and arms full of presents. Soleil’s brooch was pinned to his outfit, and Forrest’s present, a beautiful pocket watch, accompanied its golden gleam at his vest’s pocket. Kana’s crown was a little wilted by then, but he didn’t mind, having gotten used to it sitting on his head as he let Kana and Soleil lead him around, Forrest making quips every once and then. They had run into Ophelia and Nina first, and the two of them presented him a tome. When he opened it, there was a comical  _ poof _ , and there was a bouquet of beautiful white lilies in his arms. 

Percy and Ignatius had given him a sword they had forged together, and while they had given him the liberty to name it, he had yet to think of what name he would bestow on it. It was a comfortable weight against his waist, in its handmade hilt Ignatius had made himself with his father, fastened by a heavy iron buckle. Dwyer got him a journal, hand-made with elegantly tanned leather and paper of a beautiful texture, and the butler had mumbled his explanation behind it but Siegbert understood very little. Still, he gave him a smile and a nod of thanks. 

Sophie gave him a tiny stuffed chick, one she proudly declared she made herself, and he could see bandages and pinprick-small scabs on her hands. He thanked her, and immediately asked if she was alright, but a flush crossed her face and with her usual excuse, “Oh, Avel! It’s time for Avel to eat!” and a shaky laugh, she hurried away. Beside him Soleil and Forrest were giggling, obviously knowing something he didn’t, and when he shared a look with Kana, his little brother simply shrugged. Velouria showed up practically out of nowhere after that, and she handed Siegbert a cracked geode with beautiful, glimmering amethyst inside. It rough and uncut, but it was beautiful nonetheless, and he smiled his thanks to her. She smiled back, surprising  _ everyone _ , and she nodded. 

“That’s from my treasure collection.” she had said, “Please take care of it.” And with those words, she, too, was off.

Siegbert and his small party eventually ran into Kiragi, and Siegbert was reminded that Castle Krakenburg had Hoshidan and Vallite guests over. The younger Hoshidan prince greeted him with enthusiasm, and presented to him his own present—beautiful, small blue eggs in a box filled with straw. He’d winked at him and said the eggs were due to hatch in a few days, and he was positive Siegbert would love them. 

“Oh, and Prince Siegbert!” he had called as they were about to leave. “Shiro’s waiting for you in the garden.” A knowing grin crossed his face. “You know what to do.”

Soleil had laughed at that, raucous and unbecoming of her, and Forrest giggled knowingly as well. Kana was confusedly unaware of what was going on, and when Forrest took his cousin’s hand to lead him away, he refused. 

“But I wanna spend Siegbert’s birthday with him!” he protested, shaking his hand in Forrest’s, and the blond tutted and shook his head. 

“Let’s leave them alone for a little bit. You can see Siegbert later at lunch.”

“Sieg!” Kana whined, looking at his brother pleadingly for help, but Siegbert gave him a sheepish smile. 

“Go with Forrest for a bit, Kana. I promise I’ll be back with you soon.” 

Kana pouted at that, but he let Soleil and Forrest lead him away after Kiragi, waiting until they were gone before turning to head back to his room to put his things down. 

He sighed, looking out at his window overlooking the courtyard, once barren and frightening, scaring Kana the first time they saw it, was now elegantly overrun with beautiful greenery. Flowers and shrubs and trees grew where they could in a stylish fashion, not overgrown and carefully grown around pillars to accent them, and on a usual dark day they glowed Brynhildr’s ethereal green. 

Today, when it was blessedly sunny and clear in Nohr, the plants seemed to rejoice, and their colours stood out beautifully in its warm radiance. Even the flowers seemed to be celebrating his birthday.

He could see Shiro, dressed in a Hoshidan yukata not too unlike his father’s, standing next to a crowd of tall, blazingly yellow sunflowers, and Siegbert thought they made the teen simply  _ glow. _ It’d been too long since they last spoke face to face.

Longing pushed him to hurry, setting down Kiragi’s nest and Ignatius and Percy’s sword on his study table. Nina and Ophelia’s enchanted lilies would probably need a vase, one he would have Jakob or Felicia look for later, perhaps, but for now they would have to do with his bed. He set Sofie’s stuffed chick down next to the flowers, giving it a pat on its head, and then Dwywer’s journal and Velouria’s geode went to his shelf. He left Soleil’s brooch and Forrest’s pocket watch on, adjusting Kana’s flower crown slightly on his head before hurrying out, heading down to the courtyard where he saw Shiro leaning against a pillar, watching the hydrangeas and its fellows swaying in the breeze.

“Shiro,” Siegbert breathed, and he saw the teen’s shoulders shake in a fond huff of laughter. The taller teen walked up to the older one, making his way around to his front to see Shiro smiling at him lopsidedly, a tiny daisy tucked behind his ear. “Shiro.” he repeated, this time smiling, still breathless as ever, the sight of his lover taking his breath away and replacing it all with longing, and unwhispered messages of  _ I miss you _ , and  _ I’m so happy you’re here _ , and  _ I love you. _

“Queen Ricki sure likes your garden’s flowers.” Shiro chuckled, fiddling with the daisy behind his ear, but Siegbert’s hand on his wrist stopped him from removing it. His grin widened slightly, and he lowered his hand to thread his fingers with Siegbert’s. “Looks like you like them too.” He eyed the slightly wilted flower crown atop Siegbert’s head, and he chuckled.

“Kana made it for me.” He explained simply, and moved next to Shiro, close enough so their sides brushed together as they stood, watching the flowers dance in the wind. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Shiro replied simply, barely glancing down at their joined hands between them, but he gave Siegbert’s hand a squeeze. “You’re looking great. Who had that made for you?”

The blond laughed, and Shiro bumped their shoulders together. “Oh, someone who loves me very much.” He whispered, as if the whole world were listening to them, and not the greens raised to life by holy magic.

He loved the effect that word had on Shiro. The teen flushed deeply, still embarrassed at those kinds of words being spoken between them. He’d always been the type to skirt around feelings, or talk of them, but Siegbert knew what they had was mutual, and he could feel it in every brush of their skin, in the warmth of their touches, in the heat of their kisses. Shiro wasn’t vocal about it, but then again, Siegbert wasn’t very open about it either. They could work like this.

“Must be a lucky guy.” Shiro mumbled, covering his face with his palm to hide his embarrassment, and Siegbert laughed lightly.

“I don’t know. I sometimes think  _ I’m _ the lucky one.”

Shiro gave him a long look. One that was warm and hot and encompassing everything Seigbert held in his heart, one that knew all his secrets, and whispered encouragements and praise and desperate pleas into his very soul. 

He knew this look. 

He saw this look in his parents’ eyes as they looked at each other.

He knew he had it too.

It was  _ love _ .

“C’mere, you.” Shiro shook his head, and he let go of Siegbert’s hand to cup the back of his head and pulled him into a kiss. Their mouths slotted together with ease, a routine comfortably memorised over time, sought for in the coldest of lonely evenings apart, and remembered easily by muscles fueled by longing and whispered  _ I missed you _ s in the brush of heated skin on skin. 

Siegbert sighed into Shiro’s kiss, instinctively letting the older teen lead him as he was backed towards the next pillar, behind convoluted yellow and red thunbergia vines, and Siegbert remembers his Uncle Leo’s voice in his head, telling him how the flowers were made perfectly for bees, and bees made perfectly for flowers, and Siegbert thought he and Shiro were the same.

He was made perfectly for Shiro, and Shiro was made perfectly for him.

Two jagged, messy sides of jagged, messy childhoods and lives, slotting together perfectly like a lock finding its only matching key.

His back hit cool stone, unmindful of the slight pain as Shiro’s hands raised to up his face, his mouth angling slightly to tell Siegbert to open up, and he obeyed wholeheartedly, letting Shiro slip his tongue in to taste him again after weeks of being apart. The kiss lasted for a few long moments, breaths stolen between brief parting of lips and a whisper of a name, before diving back together again, until Shiro pulled away, his body pressed tightly to Siegbert’s against the pillar behind him. 

“Someone could see us.” Siegbert’s breath was stolen from his lungs the moment he saw Shiro, and his voice wavered in his heady speech. It was too late; they’d already done more than enough to be incriminating, and yet he could hardly care. His and Shiro’s relationship was an open secret to everyone in the army, and if he didn’t know any better, his mother would already be happily arranging their marriage between them. And yet—

And yet.

Some things, Siegbert was very particular on keeping private.

“Then let them see.” Came Shiro’s usual endearingly selfish reply, and he kissed down Siegbert’s neck, hands wandering over his body as he renewed bruises he put there, now long gone and erased by time’s healing hands. Siegbert sighed, growing into a crescendo of a low groan as Shiro cupped his behind, squeezing tightly, and he could feel the smile pressed against the pulse point in his throat. “Gods, I missed this.”

“Missed you.” Siegbert whispered back, like a prayer meant for only the gods and the flowers and the earth to hear, and Shiro sighed against his warmth.

“M-me too…” he always struggled to speak like that, but he knew it was for his sake. His tone made affection bubble in his chest and Siegbert reached to up Shiro’s face in his hands, pulling him off him to look him in the eye. 

“Shiro, I…”

He never got to say what he wanted to, Shiro always backpedalled and ran away from those sorts of things, always afraid to speak such small, small words. 

Yet, even the smallest things, the smallest  _ words _ , could hold so much power.

Shiro kissed him again, not letting him speak, and Siegbert sighed once more. 

Well, he could be content with this.

“I’ve got a present for you.” Shiro said the moment they parted, and Siegbert blinked at him. “... For… your birthday. I know everyone else has already given you something.”

A slow smile crossed Siegbert’s face. “Thank you, Shiro.”

The flush on Shiro’s face was incredibly fitting of him. Embarrassment flooding his cheeks with heat made him seem more… human. More intimately human. His bravado and his strength and carelessness made him more beast-like, much like his father, but now… Shiro was more the boy he is than the man he should be.

It humbled Siegbert to know he could bring the boy to surface, if at least once in a while.

“Just wait a little, I haven’t even given it to you yet…” Shiro mumbled, but he pulled away to fumble around his clothes. Patiently Siegbert waited, watching him search around until he finally found something, surprise crossing his face for a brief moment, before an expression Siegbert would never quite get used to seeing on Shiro’s face.

Trepidation. Fear.

“... Shiro?” he asked, and Shiro took a shaking breath.

“I want you to have this.” He pulled out his fist from his sleeve, and he opened his hand to reveal a slightly crude ring, yet shimmering a bright silver. It was a simple band, one was clearly hand-forged, and—

“Oh, gods.” Siegbert breathed, his jaw dropping, and Shiro resolutely held still, biting his lip. “Shiro, this is…”

“Made it myself.” he gruffly mumbled, embarrassment shining through his tone the brightest. “My old man helped me a little, but I kicked him out of the smithy when he started asking me who it was for.”

At that Siegbert’s shock wore off, and he laughed softly, taking the ring from Shiro’s hands. 

“That’s very much like you to do that.” he fondly said, warmth full and swelling in his voice as he inspected the band carefully. There were flaws here and there, an odd sharp corner, but to Siegbert it was perfect. The thought of Shiro’s hands molding the metal into this all by himself made it all the more beautiful, even with its flaws. “I love it, Shiro.”

A small smile finally crossed Shiro’s lips, but he jumped when he saw Siegbert making a move to slip it on his ring finger. “Ah, not there!” he practically yelled, and Siegbert jolted. 

“Shiro?” he asked, worried he’d done something to upset him, and the older teen flushed darker.

“Put it on your, um. Middle finger.” he stammered, “S-so… when you see the ring, you’ll remember me, and…” he swallowed, “Get the guts to tell someone to fuck off.”

Siegbert would have scolded him for his language, but he knew what Shiro intended with that ring. He knew why Shiro was acting like this—he knew what he really wanted.

Still, he put it on his middle finger, and he chuckled, kissing him gently. 

( _ Do you promise to be mine, for ever and ever? _ )

“Thank you, Shiro.” he said lovingly, “I do.”

A huge smile crossed Shiro’s face, and he pulled Siegbert in for another kiss, more passionate than their last one, and when they parted, there was a single tear that rolled down his cheeks.

“Thanks.” he breathed, the single syllable heavy with affection, with gratitude, with  _ relief _ and  _ joy _ and  _ love _ and Siegbert could feel his own heart swelling in his chest. “Just… thanks. So much, Sieg.” 

“I love you too.” 

They shared one more kiss under the sun, petals and the scent of flowers in the whirlwind of an early summer breeze, and above them, looking down from a window, the King and Queen of Nohr shared a smile, and closed the curtains.

* * *

“Do you, Prince Siegbert of Nohr, solemnly swear to uphold your duties to protect our kingdom, to listen to the people’s voice, and to become the light that guides the nation?”

“I do solemnly swear.”

Brynhildr was pressed to his left hand, its holy glow warm against his palm, and his uncle looked at him with unbridled pride.

“And do you so swear to your motherland, to your King before you, and to the kingdom of Nohr, to protect its glory from all those who dare take it?”

“I do solemnly swear.”

His mother approached him, Siegfried in her hands, and with a bow, he took its handle from her. He saw her eyes welling with tears of pride and joy, and he couldn’t help but feel his own eyes sting, but his did his best to hold on. He did, however let her pull him into a hug, and she kissed his temple first, warming her to the crowd before them. He gave her a watery-eyed smile, and she nodded at him supportively.

“And do you so swear to love your kingdom, to care and nurture it like your own child, to bring everlasting peace to it for so long as your life allows, upon your reign as its next leader?”

“I do solemnly swear.”

He’d been used to Kana’s flower crown, but now it was an iron laurel, placed upon his head by none other than his father himself, and the man couldn’t look prouder of him. King Xander cupped his cheek, and thumbed away at the tear that had rolled down from his eye. 

“I’m so proud of you, my son.” He murmured, and Siegbert’s world shimmered through the tears that welled in his eyes. “You will make a fine king someday, I know it.”

“Thank you, f-father.” he couldn’t help the stutter in his voice, and Xander’s smile grew warmer. 

“I love you, my son.” he said, and stepped away, forward, looking back at him with nothing but pride and joy in his eyes.

“Then it shall be so, that crowned this day is Nohr’s new crown prince.” 

Siegbert carefully walked forward, past his uncle and his mother, to stand next to his father.

“Presenting, His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Siegbert of Nohr.”

The hall burst into cheers, but Siegbert could only see one face in the crowd, and the shimmer of a simple silver ring around his middle finger.

Shiro smiled back at him, and mouthed three little words Siegbert had always wanted to hear.

“ _ I love you. _ ”

**Author's Note:**

> I'M SO HAPPY MY BABY SON'S GETTING MARRIED HUHUHUHU I CAN'T WAIT FOR SHIRO'S BIRTHDAY BECAUSE I HAVE A MULTICHAPTER PLANNED FOR RELEASE THAT DAY


End file.
